


no image found

by blueviolets



Category: Persona 5, Persona 5 Royal
Genre: Birthday, F/M, Major Spoilers, Suicidal Thoughts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:00:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23325127
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueviolets/pseuds/blueviolets
Summary: The last living Yoshizawa twin spends her birthday without the other.
Relationships: Kurusu Akira/Yoshizawa Sumire, Persona 5 Protagonist/Yoshizawa Sumire, Yoshizawa Sumire/Amamiya Ren
Comments: 1
Kudos: 73





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“I’m home...” 

Sumire took her shoes off by the door with a sigh. It was a long day and she really wanted to just go lay in bed with the lights off, but knowing what today was, she wasn’t getting away from her parents so easily. Her mom came to greet her first, her smile gentle as she stood in the doorway leading to their living room.

“Welcome home, sweetheart. How did your appointment with Dr. Maruki?” Sumire avoided getting eyes as she dropped her bag to the floor, attempting to escape upstairs. Unfortunately, her path was quickly blocked by her mother. “Why don’t you come and eat? Your grandmother made you your favorite flavor for cake, and we have gifts if you’d like...”

She couldn’t really refuse, so she walked past the older woman into the living room and sat at their dining table. Her father looked up from the stack of papers in front of him, his seat opposite of Sumire’s.

“Your doctor gave me a call a few days ago, he said your appointments have been going well. I’m not surprised, he’s the best therapist in Tokyo.” His haze fell back to his papers as he adjusted his glasses. “He said that you might be able to go back to your regular training schedule soon, and he’ll be available for phone sessions when you start at Shujin.”

Her mother placed the cake on the table, with her grandmother following behind to take a seat beside Sumire. “I think attending Shujin will really help you, sweetheart. It’ll be a great way to meet new people.”

Plates and food were passed around the table, the conversation between family becoming background noise. It all felt fake. Forced. Would life really be like this if  she  was here?

None of this matters now with her gone. Why should her family celebrate Sumire’s birth? Maybe life would be better if she wasn’t born. She tried to give her family that life, but she couldn’t even do that right.

Her mind kept tugging and pulling through completely different thoughts. Her family looks so happy right now, they shouldn’t be happy. They shouldn’t be happy with Sumire here. She should be shunned to stay in her room for taking away their daughter. If Sumire had been stronger, more perfect, more  _ anything _ , then this would all make sense. But none of it makes sense. Before she knew it, she couldn’t even quiet the voices in her head. All of the condolences, all of the concerned voices about how that day happened, all of the reassuring. Her sister would never have to deal with the same burden that Sumire has right now. If only it wasn’t Sumire that lived.

“If only Kasumi was here with us...”

A sudden jolt to the table sent a few of the glassware scattering around as the family turned their attention to the now standing Sumire. She didn’t look them in the eyes as she turned to the exit.

“Sumire wait, you know we didn’t mean-“

“ _ Don’t call me that! _ ” She snapped at her father, a hand gripping the doorway. “If I was Kasumi, made you all wouldn’t have to pretend to be happy that I’m here. If I was  Kasumi  then your perfect daughter would still be here, and Sumire wouldn’t even be a thought in your mind today. It’s because I’m Sumire that she’s gone, and you all know it so don’t act like it’s not true!” 

Before anyone could get a word in, she ran up the stairs straight to her room. Sumire curled up with as many blankets as she could, her phone brightening the room as she watched the screen. There wasn’t much she’d want to focus on that was on her phone; it was mostly thoughtless scrolling, letting her mind wander away.

_ “I can’t keep living knowing my sister died because of me...”  _

_ Sumire’s eyes were locked to the ground, struggling to keep her tears back. It seemed to be the only thing she could do lately: avoid everyone’s eyes and their pitiful looks. Especially her therapist, Takuto Maruki.  _

_ The man shifted in his seat, already in thought. “Well, then how do we get you to keep living?” _

_ For the first time in for what felt like forever, Sumire looked up to look him in the eye. “The only way I could keep living is to keep living as my sister.” _

_ His face changed from shock to a something more gentle, but not pity.  _

_ “I have a way to grant you your wish, but only if you’re serious. _

_ “I am.” _

Her eyes fell to the app she pressed subconsciously, the collage of photos she’d taken and saved before the incident.  I haven’t even added anything to my photos since...  Sumire’s thoughts faded as she looked at the very last photo and clicked on it. A photo of her and her sister at practice, the day she passed away. Her usual, bubbly smile was in the majority of the bottom corner of the screen while Sumire recognized her shocked expression in the background. The very last memory of the two of them when they were happy.

_Starting tomorrow, I’ll live on for you sis._ Sumire thought.  _ I’ll carry on your dream. _

She hit delete.

—   
  


“Sumire?”

Her eyes blinked a few times, a few tears in the corner of her eyes. She turned her attention to her boyfriend, noticing the worried expression. She felt a blush grow across her cheeks, her free hand grabbing Akira’s arm and gave it a squeeze.

“I’m fine! You’ve been worrying about me too much lately.” Sumire watched as he ran his fingers through his curls, a sigh escaping his lips.

“Yeah but... I know this is a tough month for you, even when you don’t say it.” His hand squeezed hers gently, a small smile growing. “You know I’m always here to talk when you need it.”

She pulled away from Akira, using her arms as a pillow while she laid her head down on the table. “I was thinking back to last year, how everyone was so careful around me because of Kasumi. It’s going to be like that every year now, being careful with me because of what I did and who I lost.”

“...I’m sorry if I came off that way, I didn’t mean to make it sound like that.” He copies her action, but his head facing her instead of being hidden. “It’s been a rough couple of months for you, considering everything with Maruki and having to deal with the after effects of being someone else... I want to make sure you know you aren’t alone anymore, you can share your sadness with us. With me.”

“I’m always going to feel more lonely on my birthday, I had a twin sister to share it with.”

“I guess I’ll have to change my birthday and spend today with you every year then, huh?”

Sumire’s head shoots straight up, face red. “Akira, don’t say things like that!”

He laughed softly, sitting back up. “That reminds me, I have your first gift of the day.” Akira reaches over to the booth behind him and places a thin gift in front of the girl. “I wanted to make sure it wasn’t your only gift just in case you didn’t actually like it, but I thought it was an important one.”

She carefully took the gift in her hands, fingers peeling the wrapping back slowly. Her eyes froze on the picture frame she unwrapped, her chest feeling heavy as she focuses on the bright smile on the bottom corner of the photo.

“How did you get this photo? Only I had this-“

“Your sister actually saved a copy, too. I figured you needed one nice thing to keep your sister close, so when I asked your parents for a picture of you two, they gave me that one.” He smiled, leaning close to kiss Sumire’s forehead. “They said it was the last picture you two took... I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate, but-“

Her arms wrapped around his neck tightly, tears already starting to soak into his shirt. “It’s perfect... Thank you, Akira. I couldn’t have asked for a better present.” Sumire held onto her boyfriend for as long as she could, despite knowing they had much more to do for the first birthday she could truly feel happy.

_ Thank you for saving me again, Kasumi. _

**Author's Note:**

> while i was writing the next chapter for unraveling, the idea for this came to mind and i knew i had to write it as soon as i could.  
> happy birthday kasumi and sumire 💕


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